Transferring materials from a one tank to another by hose is a cumbersome and time-consuming chore. This is especially true of the process of filling railroad tank cars with pellet-like materials. Pellet-like materials such as plastic pellets are lightweight and tend to fly about. Railroad tank cars for carrying pellet-like particles typically have a rectangular configuration with a v-shaped bottom. The top of the tank car has two or three hatched openings for loading the tank car and an opening in the v-shaped bottom for unloading. Materials for loading the tank cars are often transported to the tank cars by truck. The driver of the truck must transfer the load to the tank car by means of a high-pressure hose. A truck compressor is used to blow the pellets out of the truck, though the hose and into the tank car. This can be difficult. High-pressure hoses are heavy. One end of the hose is brought up to the roof of the tank car and inserted into one of the hatched openings as illustrated in prior art FIGS. 1 and 2. Because the hatched openings B, B' are off center, if the hose A empties into one hatched opening B, pile ups F occur and the tank car fills unevenly. A string or rope E is attached to the end of the hose and the truck driver attempts to catch the rope E through the other hatched opening B' after the hose E is inserted to centered the hose. Even with the hose somewhat centered, an uneven mound F forms so that the sides D of the railroad tank are not utilized and thereby leaving unfilled spaces within the tank car.
As the pile of lightweight pellets approach the top of the of the railroad tank in uneven mounds, the pellets, under pressure, tend to fly out of the openings and scatter into the surrounding environs. Pellets flying out of the tank car can be dangerous to the loader of the tank car who can slip and fall. Also this loss of pellets is a financial loss as well as an environmental problem. The scattering of pellets is especially dangerous if the pellets are hazardous materials.
T-type couplers are well known. Cox, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,781, discloses a apparatus for removing density materials from the bottom of an oil storage tank that provides an extended bottom hose with multiple openings. The hose lies on the bottom of the tank. Reference 5,065,781 discloses attaching a rope to the free end of a bottom hose and lowering the T-coupling until it is inside the tank, recovering the free end and attaching it to T-coupling. The bottom hose is attached to a riser through which liquid is removed from the tank.
Soultatis, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,555, discloses a quick connect coupling having heads unified with a pipe. It is a quick connect pressurized coupling assembly having mating male and female headboards, each attached to an outwardly flared pipe end. The Soultatis device uses two hooks adapted for attachment to the male part of the coupling device providing male and female head parts to be connected together to provide a pressurized joint for pipes.
Shumway, U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,697, discloses a pipe and coupling system that is fabricated for use in conjunction with a locking pin type readless couplings, the pipe has a thin wall configuration achieved by fabricating it from high tense steel.
Meadows et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,628, discloses a branch hose constructing and T-connector used in methods of making the hose construction with T-connector. The branched hose construction comprises a T-connector having a body portion provided with a pair of substantially oppositely directed legs extending outward.
Bard et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,150, discloses a multiple purpose irrigation fitting. The fitting comprises tee shaped fitting for connecting porous and non-porous irrigation tubing. The tee shaped fitting is also connected to garden hoses with three openings and includes caps. The fitting is collapsible at one or more openings with caps so that one fitting can be used as a elbow, coupling, tee, or end cap, thus avoiding the purchase of many different kinds of fittings. None of the above-referenced patents disclose a hose fitting that facilitates the loading of pellet-like particles in tank cars.
What is needed is a hose fitting that is easy to insert into the top of the tank and loads the tank car evenly, without pellets flying out to pollute the environment.